Italy Inflation December 2016

Italy: Inflation hits highest rate since May 2014 in December

January 16, 2017

According to revised data released by the National Statistical Institute (Istat), consumer prices in Italy grew 0.4% from the previous month in December, contrasting November’s 0.1% drop and marking the highest result since February 2015. The figure mainly reflected higher prices for services related to transport, non-regulated energy and for unprocessed food. Inflation came in at 0.5% in December, the highest reading since May 2014, accelerating from November’s 0.1% reading.

Core consumer prices, which excludes more volatile categories such as unprocessed food and energy, increased 0.3% in December on a monthly basis, which contrasted November’s 0.3% fall. Core inflation was 0.6% in December, up from November’s 0.4%. Finally, harmonized inflation came in at 0.5%, up from November’s 0.1% print and the highest reading since April 2014.

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect inflation of 1.0% in 2017, which is up 0.1 percentage points from last month’s projection. For 2018, panelists expect inflation to average 1.2%.

Industrial output grew 0.1% in July on a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, following the 1.1% expansion registered in June and beating analysts’ expectations, which forecast a 0.3% contraction.

The IHS Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 56.3 in August from 55.1 in July, the highest level in six and a half years and above market expectations of a slight increase to 55.3 points.

The National Institute of Statistics’ (Istat) consumer confidence index stormed to 110.8 points in August, up from July’s 106.9 points and comfortably beating market expectations of 106.9 points.
August’s reading reflected a broad-based improvement in all of the index’s sub-categories.